Marriage, Marriage, Marriage!

Everyone is all about the marriage lately...

I came home for Memorial Day, which I guess is traditionally a very weddingly time of year. But for some reason I haven't been able to escape them since I got back. I took my little sister to see Sex and the City 2, which was all about marriages and relationships and how people really suck at being in them. I was a big fan though. It was much funnier than the first SATC movie. My favorite part involved Kim Cattrall's character swearing at a bunch of Arab men in a market, whilst thrusting her hips and waiving condoms. I feel all gender oppression should be combatted in a similar fashion.

So on top of SATC, I had a wedding to go to yesterday. The connection to this weekend's theme is pretty obvious there: open bar. And when we got back from the reception, we watched It's Complicated - yet another marriage movie. It gives me hope though. If one day I'm a divorced old bag, at least I might have a restaurant and a rockin' house out in the LA suburbs. In the meantime, I'm off to my pitcher of sangria in the sun! Happy Memorial Day!

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Marriage-marinated" Yazge

Yoga Pains

Oh yeah, I was doing poses exactly like this.

I finally went to Yoga to the People for the first time in almost a year. But the thing is I went two days ago, and I still have muscles that are hurting. But they're really random muscles - the back of my shoulder, only select lats, and all those odd little muscles you never knew you had. Also, my will-to-return-to-yoga muscle. That one hurts a lot.

And can we just discuss how much my sweat levels are not conducive to public yoga? It's like there was a hose on constant spray out of my head. I could never keep my arms in pose for too long, because I had to keep wiping all the sweat out of my eyes before I went blind. To make matters worse, my perspiration was pooling on my yoga mat, causing me to slide all over the place. So I took my shirt off (horrifying for everyone else there, I realize), and tried to use it to stabilize at least my hands. That worked for all of 5 minutes, until the shirt was fully saturated. It was a hot damned mess. But I loved every minute of it. Next time I just need to bring a towel.... or five. Watch out Whitney Houston, there's a new sweat-monster in town.


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Sweat-monster" Yazge

Target Ads

This is pure genius...


So I'm still on a Lost kick. This includes feeling I've had a life-changing experience - even though it didn't actually involve a smoke monster, time travel, the afterlife, or lots of sand. Anyway, I was reading Adweek today, and found this amazing Target commercial that ran during the finale. Talk about creative advertising. There were three versions in total. This was my favorite! Enjoy!


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Targeted" Yazge

Found.

Music seems the only way to describe how the finale made me feel.

Words cannot describe how breathtakingly beautiful the series finale of Lost was. There was so much meaning, and passion, and sincerity in the way everything came together. This finale will go down as one of the best television has ever seen.

I have issues with letting go, with saying goodbye, with my own mortality. So naturally, this episode hit a cord with me. There are a lot of people in my life that I'm so very blessed to have, and whom I get to see on a very limited basis. Some of these people I know I will have the joy of sharing the rest of my life with. Others, I thank God every time I get the chance to see them again, because I fear with every fiber of my being that each time I see them will be the last. There was something very beautiful, and reassuring from this final episode, that reminded me of something I guess I've always known: that there's never a final goodbye. There is a place where we will all be together, a place where we'll never have to say goodbye again. I feel really stupid that it took a TV show to make me remember this, but sometimes you have to take the little messages God sends you in whatever form they come.

Seldom do I get very emotional on this blog, but I felt this was necessary. When something moves you the way this story moved me, you feel the need to share it. So thank you Lost for giving me a story full of emotion and meaning, and thank you everyone in my life for doing the same.


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Found" Yazge

Lost! (as reenacted by someone's Italian extended family)

In celebration of the end of an era.


So I love Lost. I also love extended Italian families... So this movie just makes sense to me. I'll have a recap of my thoughts for y'all tomorrow! Enjoy the finale!



Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Lost" Yazge

Pure Blintz

Let's get blintzed!

The padre and I went out for breakfast this morning before he hit the road to go back home. Under no other circumstances would I be awake at 8am on a Saturday morning. Apparently no one else is up at 8am either, and the only place we could find open for breakfast was Veselka - quite possibly the best Ukranian diner the world has ever known. They even have a cookbook now. And that cookbook even has a quote from John Stewart on it. What more could you ask for? Nothing.

For those of you who don't know, I'm one of the least decisive people you will ever meet. Menus daunt me. So I turned to a good friend's advice this morning: "Always go with the blintzes. Trust me. Our people do them right." (Thank you Tammy Schaffer). And boy was she spot on. These blintzes were HUGE, and had the best sweet cheese filling I've ever blintzed. Add a little raspberry sauce and powdered sugar and you're good to go. It was the perfect way to cap off a really great couple days with il padre!


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Blintz-meister" Yazge


P.S. - anyone interested in trying to make these from scratch next weekend???

Promises, Promises = Amazing, Amazing.

I could die. DIE! DIE! DIE!

That's how amazing this show was. So my padre is in town for the weekend, and we decided we'd really like to go see a show. Fast forward about 24 hours, and we're watching Sean Hayes be the most ridiculously hilarious actor I've ever seen live. I almost peed my pants. Ok, so maybe I did pee my pants. Just a little trickle though... There was one part in particular where another actor dropped the lid to a liquor bottle he was using on set, and it started rolling away. Sean Hayes improved flawlessly and kept saying (in a very Jack McFarland kind of way) "Oh no. Nope. Over there. Stilllll rolling, hahahah. Over. Over. Yup. Ohhhhh-kay. Got it." I know this makes me sound like a blabbering idiot, but I was there. Just trust me: it was funny.

But perhaps the best performance of the show was by Katie Finneran, who played a crazy drunk. Who doesn't love those? Sean Hayes meets her in a bar after being stood-up for a date. She's all giggles and slurred words, and low raspy one-liners. She's even wearing a shawl made out of owl. And then at the end of their song together, Sean jumps up, wraps his legs around her waist (as she's holding him) and they proceed to have one of the sloppiest on-stage makeout sessions I've ever seen. It was beautiful. I think that moment was what got her the Tony nomination for this role. No, seriously. She's nominated for a Tony for this role. And if she doesn't win, I may die.

Oh, and I got to see Kristin Chenoweth live. That was awesome too. Couldn't end the post without at least saying her name once.

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Promises" Yazge

When a Boy loves a TV.

My metaphorically blown -up TV.

I never watched that much live television when I had TV this past semester, so I didn't realize how valuable a thing my TV was until I didn't have it. Absence makes the mushy-gray-matter grow fonder, stronger and less reliant on trashy reality shows, but still fonder. In the new apartment there's a lack of cable, mainly because we're too cheap to pay for it. But now I can't watch all my shows when they normally air. This wouldn't be a problem, but I have several friend who like to share all the best lines from the shows I watch before I actually have the opportunity to watch them. Not to name names, but the most notorious for this is a small blonde who may or may not be competing in Miss Indiana next month... Let's see how ruining plot lines meshes with the rest of your platform? I'm sure the judges will be very interested in what I have to say!

I wound up going to a friend's last night to watch Glee, which ended up being really fun. But I can't come break down her door every time the Jersey Housewives are on, though that would be a very Jersey Housewives thing to do. I'm currently investigating other options, which include swiping into an NYU dorm, cranking up the volume in a Best Buy, and installing an antennae into my skull. I'm not sure about the last one, but I figure it's worth a shot.


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "And it's been 7 days since my last at-home cable experience" Yazge

A Jersey Kinda Day

Thank you to three lovely ladies for brightening my morning!


So my alarm didn't go off this morning. Well, it did, but at 6:45 - the time I was planning on going running. When I looked out the window, it was downpouring. So, I reset my alarm (or so I thought) and went to back to bed. I woke up again at 8:55. I needed to be at the office at 9. It was a chaotic morning, involving me running in and out of 4 different convenience stores until I found an umbrella, which ended up being the least effective umbrella ever. I was drenched by the time I made it to the office. Jumbo-brella my left foot! Add to the confusion of the morning, some random homeless dude took a picture of me as I was running to work. Seriously? Since when were the paparazzi using homeless disguises? With all the greasiness, the inability to show up for work on time, and the tabloid photos, this morning made me feel like I was on the Jersey Shore.

But, then I got to work and checked my Facebook. I had three wonderful messages from some very lovely ladies. I didn't feel any less a part of a Jersey Shore morning (they used ridiculous nicknames, had delusions of being president, and one of them still hadn't changed out of her pajamas by almost noon and was talking how hungry she was). But they did make me feel loved. So, thank you. And Lauren, eat something. Please.


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "The Predicament" Yazge

SUMMER! (and I'M BACK!... again)

Hey big ol' park in the middle of Manhattan!

I know, I know. I keep disappearing. You could blame it on finals. You could blame it on me having to move into a new apartment. You could even blame it on the current political climate in Thailand, not that it would make much sense to. But now that it's officially summer, I'm going to make a concerted effort to post something up here every day. I figure I'll start today with a little story about my weekend:

CENTRAL PARK
A story by The Ugly American

Once upon a time, it was summer and everyone was really happy about that. One of those really happy people was the Ugly American. Despite popular belief, he had friends, and they all went to Central Park together. The Ugly American wasn't much of one for physical exertion, so he passed out on the great lawn for over an hour. When he woke up, he played some paddleball, or at least that's what we're calling it because no one is really sure what the hell that thing was called. It just involved two big paddles and a ball. No one is even very sure of the rules. In fact, there probably aren't any, because this is America and you can just get used to that. Also, a mean old lady yelled at some kids playing soccer, and the Ugly American was pretty sure that her uterus dried up inside her body, preparing to call it quits before that woman thought it was a good idea to become a mother. Oh, and then the Ugly American went with his friends to 7Eleven and got a slurpee, and even though every one thought that was going to be a good idea, it really wasn't and it was actually kind of gross. THE END!

How'd you like my story? Pultizer material, no?


Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Parks Department" Yazge

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

The rain, it is like cats and dogs...

First off, after searching Google images using the words "wet cat" give you the most horrifyingly ugly pictures ever. Felines were never intended to be wet. They look like oversized rats, ready to scratch your eyeballs out. 

But just like wet cat, I too am not amused. Last night, before it started raining, I heard the thunder, and wasn't sure if it was just thunder, or a building exploding somewhere. I know that that's how the terrorists win, but after that bomb scare this weekend, I'm a little on edge. I actually called my friend to make sure she thought it was thunder. Then I turned on CNN just to be sure.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of walking 20 blocks to work in this mess. It's torrentially downpouring. Again, not amused. There is one benefit though to such horrible weather: Dunkin Donuts was empty this morning, meaning I didn't have to wait in line to get my coffee and flatbread sandwich. Oh, silver linings.

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Wet Cat" Yazge

So I was walking alongggggg...

They're baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

With so many crazy things happening in the world - oil spills on the shores of Louisiana (that state can't catch a break), failed bombing attempts in Times Square (oh yeah, I was 5 blocks away while that SUV was sitting there, waiting to explode), and the Penguins losing another Stanley Cup Playoff game (such a shame) - there has to be something that we can count on....

JERSEY.

I was avoiding studying this afternoon, which is how I ended up watching the director's cut of the season finale from last summer's Real Housewives of New Jersey. There is no higher form of art than reality shows about Italian-American housewives from New Jersey getting drunk and flipping tables at restaurants. The just kept showing Teresa screaming and flipping that damned table. God, I love her. And then she shares through a testimonial that "Juicy" - her husband - found that really attractive and that if she wanted to make passionate love more often, that she should start flipping tables on a daily basis. She. Was. Brilliant. Of course in that whole confrontation scene, I would have been more like Caroline, just laughing uncontrollably at how ridiculous the whole thing really was.

But the whole point of this rambling on a theme is that the Jersey Housewives are coming back for round two. The new season starts tomorrow night at 10pm. You know where I'll be!

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Jersey Jonesin'" Yazge

Oh! Oh! Ballarò!

Take away that large plate of food, and insert 'un cornetto'. Grazie!

My love for Ballarò never fails. I went this morning for caffè and un corentto - the Italian variation on the croissant. DELIZIOSO! Since I no longer get my daily fix of Italian pastries on the NYU Florence campus, I have to find something equally as buttery and delicious. Plus, the Italians just know how to do coffee way better than anyone I know. And I know a lot of people. I'm kind of a big deal.

One thing that I don't like is that my Italian is slipping. I used a bit of it with the waitress. Most of the people that work at Ballarò are honest to Caesar Italians. So I feel the need to embarrass myself in front of them with my feeble attempts at their language. It didn't help any that I was wearing my Fiorentina jersey. Such a poser. But the good news is that I may have gotten my hands on a copy of the language-lesson software that I will not name on this blog, mainly because I don't want them to know I have a questionably legal copy of their product. Let's just say it rhymes with Hosetta Bone, and may or may not be named after a famous tablet that first helped decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs. CHEERS!

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Cornetto" Yazge